Airports 'well prepared' for bomb threats

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Australia's airports were well prepared to handle a bomb threat, experts said today, as they praised the pilot who responded to the mid-air scare on United Airlines flight 840.

The captain returned to Sydney 90 minutes after take-off yesterday afternoon after attendants found a sick bag with a note with the letters "B O B" written on it.

The letters were interpreted as meaning "bomb on board" but police later said the scare was a hoax.

International standards for responding to security alerts set down by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) were followed to the letter, security expert Neil Fergus said.

"It was a textbook response," said Mr Fergus, the former head of intelligence for the Sydney Olympic Games.

He cautioned against people judging the pilot's actions after finding out later the threat was probably a hoax.

"Hindsight's a wonderful thing," Mr Fergus said.

Aircraft security consultant Don Robertson said it was vital to take every precaution in dealing with a potential airborne threat.

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"It is an over-reaction but it's an over-reaction, perhaps, that we had to have in order to increase the level of security awareness," he said.

Associate Professor Robertson, the head of the University of Western Sydney's Australian Centre for Security Research, said the response showed airports were well-equipped to handle aircraft bomb threats.

"Australia's international airports are well prepared," he said.

"We've got a good national security program. We've got a good airport security program. We've got a good airline security program.

"If anything, the best way to test things is to have these (incidents)."